Believe...

I was digging through my embroidery floss box the other day and, the deeper I dug, the more I found - more than just floss, that is. In what seems like another lifetime, I used cross stitch. A lot. And I was in good company. My friends Nancy and Dawn were addicts as well; we were all hooked thanks to an absolutely wonderful shop called The Sampler that sadly no longer exists. It was when I lived in Toronto, so more than 20 years ago; I'm always amazed when I can use two digit numbers to recall times in my life!

Anyway, there are a few pieces that have been sitting in the dark patiently waiting for me to remember that I was working on them, and this one made it out of the box. It's called Believe and is a Mary Engelbreit pattern. This is one of my favourite of her illustrations - I also own a Christmas cookie tin with the same illustration on it and just love bringing it out every year.

It is so close to being finished that it's just sad. The pattern is dated 1990, so I suspect that it was started around the time I left Toronto. All that's left to do are some finishing accents and outlining with black floss - the needle is still in it! It's done on a raw linen and the stitched area is 10" x 14" so with a mat it will be about 14" x 18". I wonder if those fold lines will ever come out?

Well, I've decided that it's not going back into the box. I'm going to finish it and then figure out if it will be framed or made into a pillow. Not sure if it will be completely done by this Christmas given everything else that's on the schedule, but it will be finished and used. Maybe if I just do what the pattern says and 'believe' it will get finished in time. Regardless, even if it's just stitching on it, I will enjoy it this holiday.....M